Rifamycins exhibit concentration-dependent killing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis; higher exposures potentially induce better outcomes. We randomized 180 tuberculosis patients in Peru to receive rifampin at 10, 15, or 20 mg/kg/day. A total of 168 had noncompartmental pharmacokinetic analyses; 67% were sampled twice, and 33% were sampled six times. The doses administered were well tolerated. The median area under the concentration-time curve from 0 to 6 h (interquartile range) was 24.9 (17.6 to 32.1), 43.1 (30.3 to 57.5), or 55.5 (35.7 to 73.2) h · μg/ml. The median maximum drug concentration in serum in the experimental arms reached the target of 8 μg/ml. Continued investigation of higher rifampin doses is warranted. (This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under registration no. NCT01408914.).
Keywords: antitubercular agents; pharmacokinetics; rifampin; tuberculosis.
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